Stasis
| rarity = Rare | type = Instant Spell | casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = Each unit in the targeted map tile remains motionless during its controller's next turn. While a unit is affected by Stasis, it must make a Resistance roll at at the start of each subsequent turn: *Failure means the unit remains motionless for another turn, and remains under the effect of Stasis. *Success means the Stasis effect is immediately dispelled from this unit, and it can move. }} Stasis is a Rare Instant Spell belonging to the realm. It may only be cast on the overland map for the base Casting Cost of , and must be targeted at an enemy unit or stack. Each unit in the targeted stack may not move during its controller's next turn. During the start of the next turn, each unit affected by Stasis may make a Resistance roll at to try to free itself. Success means the Stasis effect is removed from the unit and it may move freely again. Failure means the unit may not move during this turn, and the Stasis effect remains in place on that unit. Note that movement is restricted only on the overland map. If a unit under Stasis is attacked by an enemy force, the unit may still move on the battlefield map as normal. The effect is permanent and may not be undone - except by a unit successfully resisting it. Although it behaves somewhat like a Unit Curse, Stasis runs its course instantly, and requires no additional Upkeep Cost. Effects Stasis holds an enemy unit or army stack in place permanently - until the target manages to successfully resist its effect. Stasis Effect Upon casting Stasis on a unit, that unit loses its next turn. In other words, during its controller's next turn, this unit may not move at all on the overland map. At the start of its controller's next turn (that is, two turns after Stasis was cast), the affected unit gets to make a Resistance roll, at a penalty of to its Resistance score. If the unit fails this roll, it is once again rendered immobile for the duration of its controller's turn. The unit may make another Resistance roll at the start of the next turn, and the turn after that, and so on. If it keeps failing the Resistance roll, the unit could potentially be held in place indefinitely. However, if the unit ever succeeds a Resistance roll against the Stasis effect, the effect is removed from it immediately. That unit may move freely from that point onwards, and no longer needs to make further rolls. Units resist independently of each other. If Stasis was cast on an army stack, each unit in the stack may end up freeing itself from the effect separately from the others, and may split off from the stack as soon as it does (if it so wishes). If it chooses to remain in the same map tile as the rest of its disabled army, the unit is not at risk of "reacquiring" the Stasis effect. Stasis only affects movement on the overland map. If a unit (or the stack it is in) is attacked by an enemy force, this unit may move as normal on the battlefield map. However, if the unit survives the battle, it will still be unable to move on the overland map once the battle is over. Usage spell is an expanding magical cage as seen here. The cage disappears after the animation is completed.]] Stasis may only be cast on the overland map. It must be targeted at a tile containins at least one enemy unit. Each unit within that tile will be affected by Stasis simultaneously. However, note that units that were not in that tile may later move into and out of it without suffering the Stasis effect - it only applies to units that were inside that tile at the time when the spell was cast. The Stasis spell has a base Casting Cost of . No units inside that tile may Resist its effect. The spell runs its entire effect instantly - applying a permanent ill effect on each unit - but the spell itself dissipates immediately. Therefore, although the targeted units remain affected by Stasis, the spell itself has no Upkeep Costs and may not be dispelled by rival wizards. The Stasis effect can only be removed from a unit if that unit succeeds any Resistance roll as described in the section above this one. As long as the unit does not succeed its rolls, it will remain affected by Stasis despite the spell being long gone. Once the spell is targeted and cast, a large cage-like effect will cover the targeted unit or stack. As explained above, the effect on the targeted unit(s) is immediate. Acquisition As a Rare spell, Stasis may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least Spellbooks. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least Spellbooks. Customized Wizards possessing Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn. Wizards with to Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research Stasis during the game. The chance for this spell to appear for research increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With or Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research at some point, if it is not already available for casting. Stasis has a base Research Cost of . With at least Spellbooks, the Stasis spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell. Strategy Stasis offers a terrific way to stop a powerful unit or army from advancing or from moving to defend one of its controlling wizard's assets. This buys time for your own units to regroup and/or advance themselves, to exploit this opportunity. Note that the penalty means that units with a Resistance score of or less might never be able to free themselves from Stasis, and thus must either remain forever in their current tile. The only way to free such a unit from Stasis would be to somehow increase its Resistance score to or higher, and wait until it manages to free itself. Otherwise, it may be prudent to simply dismiss the unit entirely to conserve the , or required for its Upkeep Cost. Note that computer-controlled wizards often prefer to dismiss units that do not have much of a chance of breaking the Stasis field. Therefore this spell may be used to force the AI to simply dispose of his affected units. Read more on this below. Exploiting the Stasis Effect As mentioned above, computer-controlled wizards often prefer to dismiss their units rather than wait for them to become free of the Stasis effect. This is supposedly done to avoid wasting the , or required for those units' Upkeep Costs. This can be exploited by the player in order to convince a rival wizard to abandon an entire army stack - or at least large part of it. Any unit with (roughly) in the targeted stack will likely be dismissed at the start of its controller's next turn - severely diminishing the size of the stack. This can be amazingly potent when preparing to assault an enemy wizard's Town. Just prior to the attack on that town, cast the Stasis spell upon it and end your turn. At the start of your next turn, most of the town's garrison will likely have disappeared - due to being dismissed by its controller. This results from a major AI flaw. The AI is apparently unaware that these garrisoned units would still be useful during the battle to defend the town, and so they are dismissed to conserve the resources required for their Upkeep Costs, leaving the town nearly empty of troops. Category:Instant Spells Category:Sorcery Category:Unit Movement